Persephone
by Adonisia
Summary: The Goddess of Spring is stolen by the God of the Dead. All he needs is her love, and all she wants is her freedom. [Drabble] [ItaSaku]
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've been toying with an idea for a while. This is a result of that.

Blanket disclaimer: None of the Naruto characters are mine.

Story art belongs to Hanyouda deviantart

* * *

-x-

Icarus was known for his love of the Sun.

Of a God with fire underneath his skin and stars in his eyes.

Of a heart that _glowed_.

Trapped high in his tower, Icarus only knew of the soft warmth of Apollo.

The wax winged mortal had loved too much and flew too close.

He fell to the earth in a tangle of charred wings and a broken heart.

With the realization that a God cannot love without burning everything He touches.

And in that moment, Itachi learned all he needed about love.

-x-


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter II**_

* * *

-x-

He had become the Unseen one of the Underworld. A purveyor of souls, a King of corpses and the Patron God of the Dead.

Itachi rested upon a throne of bones in an acropolis high above his kingdom, a mountain of golden coins ripped from the mouths of the newly deceased spilled around his throne and all throughout his halls.

"My Lord?"

Tired eyes slid from the grovelling man at his feet to a girl wrapped in soft white linens and braided cords.

"Ahmya."

The girl, a child barely on the cusp of womanhood, bowed low and stepped closer. "If I may, my Lord, the Messenger has come to speak to you."

A wave of his hand and the girl was gone. A nod of his head to the figure cloaked in shadows, and the pleading man was nothing more but bones so white they glowed in the candlelit hall, imprinted with teeth marks. "With the others, Eurynomos."

The clattering of skeletons drowned out the clipping of sandals on black marble floors.

Red stained eyes softened just slightly at the God with wings on his feet and wind in his hair. The Messenger smiled brightly. "Hey cousin."

"Shisui. What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, reaching to take the goblet of cherry-red wine from the platter Ahmya held close.

Shisui took a long drink, saving the moments break from duty. "Kakashi, King of Gods, has called a bicentennial meeting." Itachi frowned. His cousin grinned. "Yes, it has been 200 years already."

He huffed. "Time moves different in the Underworld."

Shisui rolled his eyes and wandered the Great Hall, stepping over bones and gold. "Ever since the re-birth and Kakashi gave you this domain, you never leave it." He cocked his head to the side. "Don't you miss the warmth of the sun, cousin?"

Memories of burning wings and betrayal on the Sun God's lips flashed across Itachi's eyes. He shook his head.

"I hope you'll give your wife more freedom than you allow yourself." The offhanded comment was met with narrowed red eyes and a sharp intake of breath. Shisui realized his mistake too late and stuttered. "I-I mean…anyways I have to go. The Blue King wishes for me to deliver some messages and uh, see you later?"

A half-step back and the Winged Messenger was gone in a puff of wind.

Ahmya's soft laughter echoed in the hall. "It amuses me when the Gods themselves forget that when they die, it is _you_ they will call King."

The Patron God of the Dead stood in a flourish of cloaked fabrics stained in blood and stitched with the cries of the slighted and left his kingdom with the cruelest smile on his lips.

-x-


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter III**_

* * *

-x-

The leaves of the Elm of False Dreams fluttered in the soft wind that blew into the mouth of the Underworld. Itachi could see the sun straining to reach the dark depths of his world.

As they were very nearly two complete opposites in the gifts they held, Itachi never invited Naruto, the Golden One, into his domain. And yet the Sun God had never tried either. Maybe in fear that the vantablack darkness was something not even he could hope to brighten.

Itachi left the comforts of his home to tread among the living, leaving footprints of dead grass and blackened soil.

The trek is long, and he wishes he opened a chasm closer to Olympus. The sun beat down on him with a ferociousness that he wondered if this was the last thing Icarus ever felt. And yet Itachi refused to remove his cloak or wreath of dead rose vines from around his head.

With spite of Naruto and Gaea and any other God that helped the sweat run down his neck, Itachi ran his pale hand over a thick of pine trees, humming with satisfaction when they fell dead around him.

He touched yet another tree but like its brothers, this one did not fall and die.

A siren's voice sang through the trees, lifting and light.

Like a moth to flame, like Icarus to the Sun, he followed.

 _He should have learned his lesson._

Itachi stood at the edge of an ocean of flora.

The siren sang of sunshine and life, and of making love underneath the shade of an oak tree.

With voice alone, she pulled the God in.

Not even his darkness and spite could kill the flowers that arched towards her, aching to hear more of her sweet voice.

Pink hair in the softest waves traveled down her bare sun-kissed back, braided with flowers and jewels that glittered. Her thin cotton dress billowed around her.

Nimble hands worked on a flower crown for the water and forest nymphs that surrounded her where she sat the edge of a sapphire lake.

His heart beat.

A feeling strange to him as it had not beat since the moment he was cut from his Titan Father's stomach by his brother.

Itachi felt…. _alive_.

 _I need to have her._

He took another step forward, concocting a plan. He could steal her, open a chasm beneath the ground, whisk her away to his Kingdom. Make her his Queen.

Queen of the Underworld.

 _Queen of the Dead._

Seafoam green eyes trained on him.

"Itachi?"

He choked.

 _Gods, the way her voice said his name._

"You know of me?"

She laughed, and his heart beat harder. He couldn't breathe.

"Of course, I do," she grinned and stood up, petals of flowers drifting down to the ground.

 _ **'Be careful my lady!'**_

 _ **'Please! He is God of the Dead!'**_

 _ **'The underworld.'**_

 _ **'So scary!'**_

The nymphs whispered to her, dancing around her skirts.

"Are you here for the gathering, My Lord?" His Queen asked sweetly.

"Hn."

She glided over to him, reaching to touch the dead rose vines around his head.

They sprung to life under her loving touch. Large, lush, blood-red roses bloomed on his crown, the vines becoming a brilliant green once more, the thorns even sharper.

His Queen smiled at him. "That's much better." Her touch ghosted his pale skin and he fought a shiver. "Just because you are God of the Dead doesn't mean everything around you must be as well." She giggled, twirling, her skirts dancing. "There is beauty in life, my Lord."

Her nymphs showered her with more flower petals, pulling her back to the safety of the sapphire colored lake. "It was nice meeting you, my Lord. Come play with me again soon?" She called, placing a flower crown over her tresses.

He swallowed thickly and nodded minutely.

Yes, he would be back. To claim her. Steal her.

Itachi had flew close to the sun, and he did not burn.

-x-


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter IV**_

* * *

-x-

His steps faltered the further he got away from her. A warmth he didn't realize she gave him seeped away and a coldness returned. His body ached to go running back and gather her up in his arms.

A figure stepped in front of him.

"Unseen One."

He looked up.

"Mebuki." He bit out. "Hello, _sister_."

She shuddered. "I told you not to call me that." The Harvest Goddess eyed his freshly bloomed crown. "My daughter is still innocent in this world. She doesn't know much outside her flowers and nymphs. You will not lead her astray."

He held his tongue, not out of fear, but out of worry of retribution.

His sister was a forced to be reckoned with when angry.

Memories of the Great Famine surfaced. Of the freshly dead wandered into his domain with skin that hung off their bodies and stomachs that rumbled with hunger. Of Mebuki withholding her gifts and blessings of crops so that the mortals will starve and die.

All because of one mortal man with a handsome face that lured her daughter from the garden into his bed.

"I do not know what you speak of." He replied with a sneer, stepping around his sister and disappearing up the path alone.

Her laughter still echoed inside his head. He knew that with Mebuki around, stealing her daughter would be more difficult.

Itachi knew he still had the Helm of Sight in his bedroom, tucked high on a shelf. A helm that when worn made him invisible, _unseen_.

If this was the path he chose, he would have to be quick.

"Aaah, there's our favorite gloomy God!" Itachi turned in time to see a flash of blue before strong arms pulled him into a hug. "Brother!"

"…. Kisame." Itachi shuddered at the touch and all but threw the Blue King off him.

Kisame, unperturbed, laughed brightly. "Haven't changed a bit, have ya, brother?" He clasped him on the shoulder. "Yer lookin' good." His gaze flickered up to Itachi's crown of live flowers. "Uh, those are uh, _new_?"

Itachi took a deep breath.

Killing his brother wouldn't help him in his quest to steal his Queen.

"Well, yer incapable of keepin' shit alive. So, I'm guessing ya ran into Sakura, hey?" His eyebrows raised in a way that made Itachi growl. "Aye, she's a sweetheart. Fuckin' beauty to boot. Mebuki though…"

A single look passed between the two of them.

It was worth repeating that Mebuki was not a Goddess that one would fuck with.

The Blue skinned God began to steer them both up the incline of white marble stairs to the palace, speaking animatedly about his new wife.

Three Horae came into view the closer they got. Kisame sensed the uneasiness that rolled off in waves of Itachi and leaned in. "Don't worry, ya know how much Kakashi hates these gatherings. I give it….a week, ma before we break to dine and drink and then ya can slither on back yer…humble abode."

Itachi snorted. _More like a month._

"Welcome home, my Lords." The sisters spoke in tandem, voices echoing deep within his soul.

Kisame grinned and walked forward with arms open wide. "Ladies. You three get more beautiful with _time_. I might have to steal one of ya back to the Oceans with me." The Blue King pulled the three goddesses into his arms. "Or maybe all three of ya can warm my bed."

More than thankful to be rid of his brother's presence, Itachi continued quietly, focusing on his breath and the way his heart stuttered to beat the further he got away from Sakura.

"Well, well, _well_." Weary red eyes looked up from the marble floors to take in the view of the Queen of the Heavens. "You are… surprisingly early, Itachi." The blonde-haired beauty sauntered over, hips with more sway than the ocean, and blank blue eyes analyzing his crown. "I must say, life just doesn't suit you, brother." A cruel smile with too much teeth.

"Sister." He snarled out, moving to walk around.

She huffed prettily and rolled her blue eyes. "I told you to call me Ino. I _despise_ having to be related to you."

Itachi wondered if this was all karma for the misgivings he bestowed upon the souls that threw themselves at his feet, begging for another chance, another life to make it right.

Ino was given too much free reign by Kakashi. With just one little finger, she could change the world as she saw fit. Jealousy and scorn motivated much of her decisions. Many stories of the mortals that wandered his realm spoke of how she withheld her gifts of childbirth or marriage.

Turning a bright life into a blackened soul that dwell unhappy within his world.

"Oh, kitty got your tongue, Itachi? You're being so very _docile_ for me." She narrowed her kohl lined eyes. "What are you scheming?"

Itachi never thought himself see-through, but he supposed spending his time around those who would follow his orders without question had made him soft. Made his _weak_.

The God of Curses, Darkness and Purgatory was not _weak_.

"Why do you care what I scheme or not, sister?" He snapped. He paced around her, blood from the hem of his travelling cloak beginning to flow freely, staining that perfect white marble. "I am God of the Dead. I command every soul that comes into my realm." He leaned in behind her, breath light on the back of her neck. "Even Goddess' have souls, dear sister. Even your soul can be trapped within Tartarus, alongside the Titans. Alongside our terrible Father."

Itachi pulled away, narrowing his blazing eyes. "When you die, Ino, your soul will be mine to command."

-x-


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter V_**

* * *

-x-

Sakura knew of a half-sister born to a swan and a Queen.

A girl with a name that reflected her heart.

Bright and shining.

A torch among the darkness of Men.

But Helen was nothing more than a bargaining chip in the vanity of Goddess'.

Sworn away to a prince with childlike innocence who began a war that would not stop until he was dead.

And his kingdom burned to the ground.

All by giving a painted gold apple in hopes of love.

Sakura wondered if Helen ever regretted giving up her Spartan life to run with a man with tanned skin and bright eyes who promised her the world but instead gave her a thousand war ships and a wooden horse.

She had never met her half-sister.

But she heard her when she screamed, tied to a burning pyre.

 _I would do it all again for a taste of love._

 _-x-_

* * *

A/N: I love combining two of my favorite things. Mythology and Naruto. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter VI_**

* * *

-x-

She was not as innocent as her mother wanted her to be.

Sakura knew of the world outside her pretty little garden of flowers and birds and endless sunshine and warm wind.

She knew of the world where men fought bloody battles over land, over women, over titles and over gold.

She knew of the world where women lay unhappy in their marriage beds, wedding rings tighter and heavier than shackles. Unhappy when their husband, a man she cannot bring herself to love, pumps away above her with breath stained with ale.

She _knew_.

She knew, and she had tasted the sweetness of a good lover once. A mortal man with a face that drew her in. With hands that unwrapped her body like the greatest gift. That had lit her fire that had yet to be extinguished.

Looking now at the God who stood at the edge of her garden, that fire within her began to burn brighter. Eyes rimmed red, long black hair thrown carelessly over his shoulder, the peek of the pale white skin of his wrists, and the scent of an alluring fruit.

This was the God that so many of her cousins, aunts and uncles and half-siblings spoke about with venom on their tongues. A God that played with lives in the palm of his hands like it was a game. A god who employed a daemon that picked the flesh off the bodies of the ones he discarded. A cruel man with his own world.

"Itachi?" She called, voice lifting across the garden.

He stiffened, and she sighed happily.

"You know of me?" He asked, voice gravelly as if he had not spoken for a long time. It was low and sweet, vibrating through her.

"Of course, I do." Sakura stood, gliding her way over to him, ignoring the cries of her nymphs. She knew who he was. And the thought of it excited her all the more. "Are you here for the gathering, my lord?" She purred, eyes raking over the sight of him.

Another soft wind blew, and the scent of fruit surrounded her.

"Hn." He had answered.

She reached up, letting her fingers caress the crown. As predicted, the flowers bloomed to life, angling towards their Lady. "That's much better," she murmured, ghosting her hand across the pale skin of his face. His skin was soft, and she ached to feel more. "Just because you are God of the Dead doesn't mean everything around you should be as well."

Sakura laughed softly and twirled around. "There is beauty in life my Lord."

Much too soon, her nymphs began to pull her back to the lakeside, filling her ears with promises of playtime and games. "It was nice meeting you my Lord. Come play with me again soon?" Itachi nodded and it looked like it was hard for him to leave. A glint in his eye told her that he had felt the same connection she did.

 _I wonder if you will show me what Helen started a war for._

-x-


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter VII_**

* * *

-x-

"Darling."

Sakura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before turning to smile brightly at her mother. "Mama! Look, isn't this pretty?" She asked, holding out a half-formed flower crown.

Her mother, bless her heart, softened at Sakura's smile. She reached out, tucking a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Not as pretty as you, my love."

Sakura giggled appropriately and leaned into her mother's touch. "Is it time to come back already?"

Mebuki sighed. "Yes, Sakura." Sakura took the outstretched hand and wrapped herself around her mother's arm, taking the long way back to the palace. "Did… were you speaking with Itachi?"

Sakura knew this was coming. Her mother was see-through. "Was I not supposed to? I've never met him before."

Her mother sighed, a flutter of feelings passed her face. "He is dangerous, Sakura. It is not just human life that he deals in, it is also immortal lives. Deep within his lands, he has the Great Father locked away, along with the Titans." Sakura tightened her hold like a scared, innocent girl would. "He is a spiteful, hateful and an angry God. It would do you no good to be around such a being."

She nodded slowly, pretending to shiver. "I'll be careful, mama. I'm sorry."

 _I'm sorry that I will be going against your wishes and seeking out the man that holds death in his hands._

-x-


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter VIII_**

* * *

-x-

Sakura sat tucked into her throne decorated in vines and jewels, gaze locked on the man at the other side of the room. She finally figured out what that fruit she kept smelling was.

Pomegranates.

She licked her lips. If she kissed him, would he taste of the fruit?

"We'll rest here for the day." She was pulled from her musings when her father stood up, stretching as if the weight of the world was on him. _No, that is Atlas' job._

Sakura beckoned to a maiden who brought her a fresh goblet of sweet rose wine. The Olympus 12, along with many other minor gods and goddesses retreated out of the Great Hall into the gardens or back to their bedrooms.

Catching a black blur disappearing around the corner, she moved to follow him. It amused Sakura the way the others felt so uncomfortable around him. Ino wasn't shy in her hatred of the God, and all but ignored his comments during the meetings.

She turned the corner quickly, nearly running into the God himself as he stood there. She gasped, unstable on her feet and reached out to grab hold of his cloak.

The soft material was replaced by the coolness of his hand as he held it.

"Sakura."

Her eyes fluttered at the way his voice said her name.

"Itachi. My Lord. I'm so sorry," she breathed. "I was not paying attention."

He did not reply, and she noticed that he did not move away either. Neither did she. His hold on her hand tightened.

He radiated everything that her mother warned her about.

Power.

Death.

Danger.

Spite.

For the Goddess of Spring who was constantly surrounded by Good, it was too refreshing to be around the opposite.

"Itachi?" She murmured, eyes locked on his. His pupils, the little bit she could see in the blackness of his eyes, were dilated and his breath caressed her face. Being so close, she could feel the heat radiating off his body. "Itachi?" She asked again, leaning in a little bit closer.

"Saaaakuraa!"

It was as if she burned him. He let go of her so quickly and was gone around the corner. Her heart thrummed wildly, and she gulped down precious breaths of air.

A blonde blur wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling into her back.

"Naruto!" She chided as he let go to face the Sun.

He smiled, and she softened at how bright he was.

"C'mon, let's go to the garden." The God of the Sun led her away with a single pair of black as night eyes following their every move and a dangerous sneer on his lips.

The God of War had found a new conquest.

-x-

* * *

A/N: Let's recap.

Sakura - Persephone

Itachi - Hades

Kakashi - Zeus

Kisame - Poseidon

Ino - Hera

Naruto - Apollo

Mebuki - Demeter

? - Ares


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter IX**_

* * *

-x-

"You have the best gift." Sakura mused as she lay on his chest, soaking in the warmth of the sun.

He laughed. "Says the girl who can make flowers grow in her footsteps. You bring the Eternal Spring to our world." Naruto's hand glided through her hair lovingly. "But I guess without me, your gift wouldn't work so well." He teased, and Sakura was a little too drunk and a little too lazy to do anything about it.

"Naruto, would you betray your family for love?" Drunk lips spill secrets.

He hummed, his hand pausing in her hair. "Depends. Will this love burn me or keep me warm?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"If it burns you alive, then I think that's something worth chasing. But if it only keeps you warm, then it's not love at all." He shifted up on his arms to look down at her with golden eyes. "Do you have something to tell me, _Kore_?"

"No," she sighed. "Just thinking about my half-sister."

"The one they burned as a witch?" He felt her nod. "They say she was the most beautiful mortal." He settled back down with his hand tangled in her hair again. "She left it all behind for freedom and love."

 _Freedom and love._

The words rang through Sakura with Itachi's face behind her eyes.

 _Freedom and love._

 _Because who would ever think that the Goddess of Spring was trapped within her garden, shackled like the unhappy brides of war._

-x-

* * *

A/N: -Sighs happily- I really think Naruto as Apollo was the best possible choice. I toyed between Zeus being Kakashi or Naruto. I know that in this chapter, I 100% made the right choice. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter X**_

* * *

-x-

"No."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"I wasn't asking." He snarled.

Kakashi sighed. "Are you insane? You want _Mebuki's daughter_ as your bride? You remember she's my kid too, right?"

The silence stretched.

"Damn it, Itachi. Mebuki won't let her go without a fight. How many mortals do you think will die this time?"

Itachi sipped his wine slowly. "None. I am going to steal her. I just need a few moments of Mebuki away and I'll take her."

The God King rubbed a hand over his tired face. "You're asking me for a huge thing here, brother."

He growled. "I have never asked you for anything before this."

Kakashi stood up, abandoning his wine and stood at the edge of his balcony that overlooked much of the Olympus land. With the setting sun, he could see his servants rushing a round to light the lanterns.

"I can get you a few moments," he conceded, sounding eons older. "But not until after the gathering."

Itachi let out the breath he didn't realizing he was holding. "How much longer?"

A shrug. "A week or two? You know how they like to bicker among themselves."

Kakashi turned to leave the room, pausing at the oak wood door carved with his legacy. "Are you absolutely sure about this, Itachi?"

The God of the Dead closed his eyes, the image of her bright eyes in his mind. "Sure as Hell."

-x-


	11. Chapter 11

**_Chapter XI_**

* * *

-x-

When the sun had set, Naruto had abandoned her in the garden with a kiss on her forehead. "It is my sister's time to shine," he said before wandering off to find a bed to sleep.

Sakura turned on her back to view the cool warmth of the Moon Goddess. The one who shone when she would make love on a blanket with only the moon and stars to bear witness.

The Moon Goddess knew and saw everything Sakura had hid from her mother, from others. And yet she did not betray that confidence. A secret between Goddesses. A secret between women.

"Sakura."

With more hope than she would have like, Sakura shot up and searched for Itachi and yet found only Sasuke instead. He raised an eyebrow at the obvious disappointment on her face.

"It's late. Why's the daughter of spring still up?" He asked, coming forward to settle down next to her, the scent of blood and agony filling her lungs. He held out a golden goblet of ambrosia for her, a choice among the Holy.

She shrugged and struggled to breathe.

 _Freedom and love._

If that was all she ever wanted, then the God of War would have been a fine choice. Sasuke was a man with a beautiful face and a body that made girls ache to run their nails down. His voice was soft and melted and wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

But the God of War was also the God of Ruin.

And she knew Sasuke had a hand in her half-sisters' demise at the Fall of Troy.

"Enjoying a beautiful night." She replied softly.

If she closed her eyes, she could see him soaked in the blood of innocents. Standing in the battle-field with a bloodlust smile on his face, hacking down friend or foe. He was Chaos personified and he would not give her Freedom and Love in the way she wanted.

Sasuke was a man who dabbled in women's bodies, and never their hearts.

"It's cold out here, come with me," he breathed softly in that way he did to get what he wanted.

It wasn't the first time he had come searching for her love.

Her eyes fluttered. "My mother…"

His breath was on her neck, stained with ambrosia.

 _She knew…_

"She's in her sister's room." He whispered, a hand wandering.

 _She knew!_

As his hand began to wander, the unhappy war brides screamed at her.

 _'Without love, we aren't even women anymore! All we do is warm our husband's bed and bear his sons to fight His wars!'_

The spell was broken, and Sakura pulled herself away from his lips that had sunk below her breasts.

"My Lord, I must…. I have to…." Sakura forced a blush on her face and disappeared into the darkness of the night as the moon hid Herself behind a cloud. A darkness that not even the War God could see into.

 _Thank you, Moon Goddess_.

She whispered back in the wind. _'The blood of Paris soaks his hands.'_

Sakura _knew_.

-x-

* * *

A/N: Damn, Tsunade would have actually been a better Demeter than Mebuki. Oh well, I'll put Tsunade in another place.

Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**_Chapter XII_**

* * *

-x-

Itachi felt restless.

An itch he couldn't scratch grew underneath his skin.

A jittering of his leg as he counted down the days and time and seconds until the gathering was over. He had all but flown back to his room, roaring for Ahmya to appear.

She did.

 _She always did._

"You look well, my Lord."

No, he didn't.

"Prepare for the arrival of your Queen, Ahmya." He spoke, low and hurried, glancing around as if the walls had ears.

He wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Her pale gray eyes lit up in a way he had not seen since the first time he plucked her from the masses of walking dead on their journey to the Vale of Mourning.

"A Queen, my Lord?"

He narrowed his eyes. He wasn't the type to repeat himself.

Ahmya all but collapsed on the ground in a pile of linen and braided black hair. "A Queen," she uttered softly. "A mistress, a mother. A _mother_ …" Her voice echoed with suppressed memories of her previous life.

A look passed across her eyes before she gathered herself up and bowed low. "It shall be done, my Lord. We await your arrival with _our Queen_."

And she was gone.

He collapsed on his bed piled high with pillows to fill the open spaces, his head in his hands. He was doing this, he really was.

Stealing an innocent girl that grew spring in her footsteps to a world lit by candlelit and misery. The world wouldn't know any more of spring and flowers. No, he would be keeping that for himself. Make her grow flowers in the darkest corners of his world. Crown her with bone and blood and name her Mistress.

Name her Queen with more power and influence and rule than Ino, Queen of the Heavens, ever had.

"Cousin?"

Itachi's head snapped up to the familiar grin of Shisui.

"Whoa, easy. Bit on edge, don't you think?" His cousin held out a goblet of ambrosia and Itachi drank it greedily, hoping to calm his nerves. "Since you're tight-lipped about everything in your life, I won't ask." Shisui held his hands up in surrender. "I have a scroll for you from Kakashi." He cocked his head to the side. "Why he wouldn't just come talk to you, I don't get. It's not like he doesn't have time."

Shisui was met with silence and huffed before leaving the room. " _Bye_ , cousin."

With the door slammed shut, Itachi tore the scroll open.

 _Tomorrow, early morn._

His hands shook.

Tomorrow.

-x-

* * *

A/N: No, the art in the cover isn't mine sadly. I wish I had that kind of talent. Credits to the artist is in the first chapter A/N.

Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter XIII**_

* * *

-x-

Sakura's eyes fluttered closed to the methodical pulling and twisting of her hair being braided by her mother. It was one of the few things in her life that gave her any pleasure any more. Mebuki sang softly about the sirens of the oceans, luring men from their boats into the icy cold waters below.

"Mebuki, Kakashi is asking for you." Both heads looked up to see Shisui with a warm smile on his face. Sakura's mother narrowed her eyes and sighed.

"What does that man want?" She grumbled before knotting the current braid with a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Be back soon, my love. Don't stray too far."

Sakura wanted to bite back ' _Where? Where would I go? I left this garden once five hundred years ago for a taste of love, and I have never been allowed to leave again. You would never let me leave!_ '

Instead, she smiled serenely and nuzzled into her mother's touch and continued with her flower crown.

"You look beautiful as always, little sister," Shisui purred, collapsing to the ground to lay his head in her lap. Sakura laughed genuinely and began to thread his black, black hair with flowers. Shisui was a favorite among her siblings.

"Next you'll tell me that the sun has done _wonderful_ things to my complexion," she teased, brushing his bangs from his face.

Her half-brother had the audacity to look shocked. "I didn't realize you took up mind-reading as a past-time, Sakura."

The girl groaned, lightly hitting his face with exasperation before tracing the dark circles underneath his eyes. "You're working too hard, Shisui. You need to remember to take a break."

He hummed, and his eyes closed. "Being the God's Messenger is a busy life. If I were any slower, I would have worked myself into an early grave by now," he grinned, "Doubt Itachi would have liked me running around his underworld."

She stiffened at the mention of _his_ name. The man she had shared a close encounter with weeks ago that now avoided her like a plague. "You visit the underworld often, big brother?"

If he heard the keen interest in her voice, he didn't let on. Shisui shrugged. "Sometimes. Itachi likes to keep to himself. He has his own Kingdom down there that doesn't need much interaction with the upper world." He paused, tilting his head to the side. "Ah, duty calls." The older God got up, dusting off his clothes before placing a lingering kiss on her head. "I'll come play with you again soon, baby sister. Love you."

She murmured the words back, amused at the way he left flowers in his wake as he winked out of sight.

"Sakura," her name was choked out and she looked up to see the man in question hesitating at the edge of her garden.

"Itachi," she sighed, getting up on shaky legs. The look he gave her was feral and reminded her much of the way Sasuke would look at a battlefield. With hunger and desire.

He stalked towards her, purpose in his footsteps. His hand reached out, wrapping around her bare upper arm. His skin cool against her warm.

"Come with me," his eyes searched hers.

"Where?"

His red-rimmed eyes told her all she needed to know.

 _To freedom._

"Please." He begged, desperation dripping from his voice.

He saw the answer in her eyes, in her smile and the ground shattered and roared as a pit as black as night opened with a staircase leading down, down, down into the dark. Sakura could hear the flowers and nymphs and nereids crying.

He took a step towards it, holding his hand out for her to take.

And she did.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up and held her close. Held her tight. Tighter than the shackles her mother tied around her neck, yet she did not feel tied down.

He began his decent and from the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gold.

Naruto.

The Sun God stood in her garden, eyes wide, mouth open, one hand mid-reach for her.

 _Wait, don't go!_ She could hear him say.

With one hand, she reached up her finger to press against her lips.

 _Shhh._

 _Freedom and love._

 _Betrayal for freedom and love._

 _(Helen, I'm following in your footsteps. Will I start a war for love?)_

-x-


	14. Chapter 14

**_Chapter XIV_**

* * *

-x-

Mebuki's cries of anguish and sorrow echoed throughout the world for days.

She wondered if Sakura could hear it wherever she was.

The Harvest Goddess could not be moved from where she collapsed in her daughter's garden, clutching a wilting and dying flower crown.

All around her lay the bodies of nymphs that could not breathe without their Lady.

The young goddess was gone, and she had taken spring with her.

The Sun did not blaze as bright or warm.

Love began to stagnate and grow cold, much like the coming winter air.

The salty waves of the ocean became chaotic and many fishermen fell into its icy clutches.

Even Kurenai's eternal hearth seemed to lose its glow and smoldered low in its fireplace.

The mortals retreated inside their homes with firewood and prayers. Pleas of mercy cried out to Mebuki, but she ignored them all.

Kakashi came first to comfort her and was turned away with a glare. "You did not care that she was your daughter when she was born, why do you care now?!"

Next came Karin, with a flip of her red hair, cotton dress dipped low between her breasts. "It was you that took her from me, wasn't it? Did you play your gifts on my daughter? Tempt her away from me?" Mebuki cried.

"No," the goddess of love replied, "but I wish I did."

Kisame hesitated at the edge of the garden. "Sister…" he called. She screamed in swears and curses and he was gone as quick as he had come.

"Auntie…auntie I'm sorry," Naruto sighed, letting himself be pulled into her embrace, tucked under her chin. "I saw, I saw it happen, but I couldn't do a thing. It's my fault."

She did not say anything but held him a little tighter.

The moment the God of War stepped into the field, the already dying flowers crumpled into dust around him. "I can get her back for you, Mebuki," Sasuke said with a slow grin, "for a _price_."

Reddened and tear-stained eyes looked up.

A lift of her chin, and he continued. "I want her as my bride."

"A fate worse than death!" She snapped.

Lastly came Temari, Goddess of the Hunt. She pleaded with Mebuki, telling her that she was killing the world. That the great many animals Temari commanded were dying frozen in their beds and in lakes. But there was no sympathy to be found.

Night had fallen, and the Moon descended from her sky to linger between the trees.

Hinata wondered if Mebuki had heard what she had heard, would she understand why her daughter had flown her cage the moment the door was opened?

With a wave of her hand, the Moon Goddess helped Mebuki close her eyes and begin to slumber, whispering to her the sweetest dreams.

 _Sakura, the world dies without you._

-x-

* * *

A/N: Just a quick character to god recap.

Kurenai - Hestia

Karin - Aphrodite

Sasuke - Ares

Temari - Artemis

Hinata - Selene

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the love of my messy little drabble.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter XV

* * *

-x-

 _I will make you a Queen,_ he whispered into her hair, pressing cool lips to her temple and wrapped her up in his bloody red cloak. _You will have your own kingdom that you can rule however you see fit. You will have more power, more love, more influence than Ino herself ever did. You will never be just a Queen in name only._

He carried her slow through his lands, gesturing to places as they passed.

Where the heat radiated the most was Tartarus, a gulf of fire and brimstone where souls of the damned screamed in agony and despair.

They crossed each of the five rivers. "Mortals drink the cool water of Lithe to forget themselves."

An open field where sadness clung to ever dead blade of grass and fallen tree was the Fields of Mourning. "Those scorned and destroyed by love make that their home."

She wondered if her half-sister wandered those fields.

Laying close was another field that to Sakura looked like much of the Earthen countryside. "The Asphodel Meadows," he told her. "The majority of souls reside there."

The acropolis came into view and Sakura leaned in close. "What of the Elysian fields?"

He smiled, proud of her knowledge. "On the other side of the castle, it is a world unto itself."

Only when the pair had passed through the great oak doors did he set her down, brushing hair from her face.

"Stay here, I will return," his thumb ran over her lips and, leaving heat and desire in its wake.

"Welcome home, my Queen," a small voice sang, throwing herself to the ground in reverence.

Sakura pulled the girl up with a smile and let herself be led to his Great Hall.

The young goddess settled into his throne, running her fingers over the sharp rose thorns threaded through skulls that bloomed to life. Candles floated and glowed, bones and gold shimmered, and the sweet scent of fruit lingered. A pomegranate tree grew in the middle of the hall, its roots stretching throughout the room like snakes, and its branches reaching up high and growing through the glass-pane ceiling.

Sakura stepped closer to the tree, breathing in the scent that reminded her so much of Itachi. On the ground lay a pomegranate split open, bloody seeds glistening, tempting.

 _'Do not eat within my realm. If you do, you cannot leave. You will be trading one garden for another.'_ He had warned her.

 _That may be, but it will be my choice. To come and go as I please, is that not the freedom I have yearned for?_

-x-


	16. Chapter 16

**_Chapter XVI_**

* * *

-x-

He kissed her, and it slowly burned through her with the sweetest desire. Even her mortal lover could not compare to that of a God. A man as old as time itself. He held her tight, shedding her cloak, and knotting his fingers in her hair, breathing her name on her lips.

"Marry me," he groaned, forcing himself to take a step back. To let her breathe, to think. He would not force her. He promised her freedom.

She smiled that pretty, little smile and tugged him back down to her mouth. "I thought you asked me already. Or did I misinterpret the way you said 'come with me'?"

He shook his head. No. She didn't. She heard those underlying words he cried out.

"Whatever you want," he pleaded, "whatever you want, I will give to you."

He lay her down on the bed, shoving mountains of pillows aside. She traced her finger under his red-tinged eyes to across his lips. "Right now, all I want is my king."

His long black hair trailed her body as he kissed from her neck to her sweetest spot.

" _Itachi_." Sakura breathed.

-x-

The Goddess of Love lounged serenely in her throne of shells and pearls high above the world. Her half-sister's cries of desire filling her soul, drowning out the love of all the other mortals.

"Tonight, Sakura, you are the rightful queen of this world." Karin lifted her rose-colored wine to her plump red lips, one hand toying in the faded blonde hair of her son. "Your marriage bed will know only passion. My wedding gift to you is my blessing and my love, little sister."

-x-

* * *

A/N: I really wanted to make Karin a bitchy Aphrodite, but honestly, I love Aphrodite too much to disrespect her like that. So you get a nice goddess, vain sometimes like all beautiful women are, but still full of love.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Chapter XVII_**

* * *

-x-

"My Lord," Ahmya called from the edge of the bed. Itachi clawed his way from underneath pillows and furs and Sakura's naked body wrapped around him. "I apologize for interrupting, but the Messenger has arrived."

A look passed between him and his Queen and he waved Ahmya away.

"Is it too late to pretend he isn't here?" Sakura asked, nestling into the furs, watching her husband of two weeks pick up his clothing.

He gave her an exasperated look and she laughed.

"Give me a moment and I will come with you," she said, sliding from the bed that her husband had refused to let her leave for the first six days and slipping on a opaque cotton dress.

"Are you su-?" He was silenced with a look she gave him this time, one of partial annoyance and partial amusement. "Whatever you want, my love." He conceded, wrapping his cloak around her bare shoulders, admiring the love bites that trailed across her skin like stars. Each a promise he made her. The one on her collarbone was that he swore to make her happy. The one on her left breast was that she would know only pleasure in their bed. And the one at the junction between her thighs that he would worship her until the day he died.

Shisui was pacing the halls, the wings at his feet fluttering nervously. His mouth chewed his thumb to bits.

"Hello, big brother," Sakura grinned, stepping forward to wrap him up in a hug. He all but collapsed in relief and held her tighter. As if afraid to let go.

"Sakura, are you alright? Come on, I can take you to your mother, she's been worried sick." He whispered. "Winter has fallen upon the Earth and the mortals are dying in the cold."

Shisui hesitated to say any more when Itachi trailed in after her, sitting in his throne, one hand on his chin. "Cousin." The messenger stiffened and nodded.

"Itachi."

The lack of love in those words was not missed by either. Sakura slowly pulled from her half-brother's embrace and draped herself in Itachi's lap, wrapping his arm around her tiny waist.

"Speak, cousin." Itachi drawled low, running his hand up and down her side.

"Our King has demanded that you return Sakura to her mother. If you fail to do so, then you bring down the wrath of all the Gods against you."

The air turned cold, and it was not Itachi's doing, but rather his young wife's.

"I am here by choice." She said. "Surely Kakashi knows this. I sent a letter."

The messenger cringed. "He…does. But fatalities of mortals are growing high in this endless winter that your mother has brought."

"So, the mortal's lives are more important than his own daughter's happiness?" The words echoed with a near childlike anger. "Fine." She snapped, getting off her husband's lap and marching towards the tree.

The Spring Goddess was angry. Her freedom was not going to be denied. She was not going to be trapped within that garden the rest of her days. Never knowing pleasure. Never knowing love ever again. She was not going to be _shackled_.

Sakura ripped a pomegranate from the tree and tore it open with her hands.

"Sakura, no!" Itachi warned, getting up, one arm out to her. "If you _eat that_ …."

She narrowed her eyes at both her husband and her brother before taking a purposeful bite, letting the bloody juice drip down her chin.

"Tell my father," she spat, "that I have eaten in Itachi's domain. By law I am bound here for the rest of my immortal life." She threw the fruit at Shisui who had flickered out of sight before it hit him, leaving it to smash on the floor.

Later, she would stroke her mother's sobbing body, and nuzzle into her hair. " _Let it be said that I never ate that fruit unwillingly. I'm the daughter of the Harvest Goddess, of course. Itachi was the one who tried to stop me because he promised me freedom. I found a way to have both freedom and love._ "

-x-

* * *

A/N: Mm, I think I'm about halfway through? I didn't honestly expect it to kinda go this far anyways? Plus if I'm keeping true to the mythology, then there's not much more to tell after the next couple chapters.


	18. Chapter 18

**_Chapter XVIII_**

* * *

-x-

" _How many did she eat?!_ " Kakashi roared, and Shisui's legs gave out. The poor messenger fell to the ground under the might of the One True King. Lighting crackled at Kakashi's hands, filling the room with a strange chirping sound.

"I-I…I don't know, a handful? Six? Seven?" Shisui stuttered, trying to forget the way his precious baby sister's eyes blazed with an anger he had never seen before.

 _No._

That wasn't his baby sister anymore.

That was the one he heard the mortals begin to call _Desponia_ , the Mistress.

The Mistress that the God of the Underworld worshiped on his knees.

"Then she will spend six months of the mortal year in Olympus with her mother, and the other will be with her…husband." He turned a sharp and tired eye to the Messenger. "If either side do not like my decision, then I will make one that will benefit neither. Sakura will reside in a locked room that I will have only the key. She will see neither her mother nor husband, and never any freedom."

With great regret and a dragging of his feet, Shisui went to deliver the messages.

-x-

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Glad I can entertain you with my nonsense.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Chapter XIX_**

* * *

-x-

Sakura ran her hand over the sharp thorns on the throne. Forward, the roses bloomed. Back, they withered and died. Forward, back, forward back.

A strange feeling to control life and death with your fingertips.

She tuned back in to the man that had thrown himself at her feet, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Please, Mistress, I beg you!"

The Iron Queen hummed, snapping the rose head off the vine, twirling it in her lithe fingers.

"Tell me about your wife, solider."

"M-my wife, M-Mistress?"

Pale green eyes narrowed at him. "Your _wife_."

He shrugged. "N-not much to tell. Homely woman, didn't talk much? Kept my house clean, gave me sons."

 _Shackled brides of war._

"Did you love her?"

Another shrug.

The silence stretched, and the man began to sweat. "Tartarus," Sakura purred, relishing in the fear in his eyes before they turned to anger.

"You _whore queen_! Where is the Lord?" He spat, rushing forward to her, but red-hot iron appeared and trapped him to the floor. His scream echoed. "My Great Lord Itachi!"

When called, he did come, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his young wife's cheek.

"She rules unfairly, my Lord," the solider choked out between snot and tears and pain. "The Judges deemed me for Asphodel Fields, but I fought in wars, I gave my life for my country! I _deserve_ to be in Elysian!"

Glowing red eyes flickered between that of the Mistress and a lowly solider.

"Even I bow down to my Queen's wishes," he replied.

The floor swallowed the man whole, and his screams combined with the hundreds of souls in the pits of despair.

Itachi would ask why she served such harsh punishment to soldiers of war.

 _This is the only way I can help my mortal sisters. They will live forever in Elysia, and their husbands will burn._

-x-

* * *

A/N: I'm all for a ruler more spiteful than the God of Death.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter XX**_

* * *

-x-

Itachi's cloak fell to the floor in a pile, cool white hands ran through his hair and rubbed his eyes. From what the spirits told him, winter was cold and harsh. Many did not have time to prepare for the change of season.

And that made Itachi's job _much_ busier.

Charon was angry, demanding a bigger boat for all the souls.

The Judges were threatening a strike over the endless line that stepped up to the gates.

And Itachi's young wife was nowhere to be found this day.

Ever since he gifted her an unremarkable field, she spent much of her time growing flowers with her hands and breathing life into trees. Her own little garden and she was happy to have both the things she loved.

So, it amused Itachi to come to his bedroom to find his beautiful wife asleep, curled around Cerberus.

Or rather more lovingly called by Sakura, who quote said " _It's such a droll name for such a cute dog. I shall name him Pakkun._ "

Now the three-headed thing follows her around like a puppy.

"I like this one," Cerb… _Pakkun_ rumbled, sniffing softly at Sakura. "She lets me on the bed."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Off." There wasn't a single sliver big enough for Itachi to sleep.

Pakkun grumbled angrily, digging deeper into the bed.

" _Off, Pakkun_." Itachi seethed.

Sakura huffed. " _Enough_ , boys," voice thick with sleep. "Honestly, big babies, both of you. Pakkun, move over and Itachi, get in."

Dog and God made eye contact and relented.

There wasn't any arguing with the Iron Queen.

-x-

* * *

A/N: BAMF Queen Sakura. You're welcome.


	21. Chapter 21

**_Chapter XXI_**

* * *

-x-

Itachi could feel the change in season. Their six months were coming to a close and it just wasn't enough _time_.

He knew Sakura felt it too. She began to wrap herself in his cloaks, staying close wherever he went, and her cries of pleasure sounded like cries of sadness.

' _I wanted to stay with you forever, Itachi. I would have eaten every pomegranate seed on that tree if it meant I never had to leave._ '

He knew.

Of course, he knew.

Because he was there on that day. He walked her to the entrance of his world where three gods stood, waiting.

Mebuki seemed to cry harder at the first sight of her daughter, recognition barely in her eyes.

Her daughter traded white for black dresses that hugged her figure, crimson red roses braided into her dusty-pink hair that was knotted with beads and bone. Her Springtime daughter was changed to a Dreadful Queen.

Naruto, the Sun God, stood stiffly by Mebuki's side, and held out a single hand to his beloved sister. _What has he done to you_ , he screamed with his eyes but Sakura simply raised her chin and let her defiance radiate.

 _He polished my skin and found a Bloody Queen underneath. He saw my darkness and breathed it to life._

Itachi pulled her into his embrace, whispering her name like a prayer, a plea. "Sakura, don't go."

The God of Death doesn't beg on his knees, and yet there he found himself, clawing at her dress with burning tears in his eyes. " _Please_ , don't leave me." Her hands tangled into his hair and she whispered her vows to him.

 _You are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone._

 _I give you my body, that we two might be one._

 _I give you my immortal spirit, 'til our life be done_

 _You cannot possess me for I belong to myself_

 _But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give_

 _You cannon command me, for I am a free woman_

 _But I shall serve you in those ways you require, and the pomegranate will taste sweeter coming from my hand._

She left him with a single red rose bloom with a promise that when the last petal falls off, she will be returned to his arms.

His kingdom never felt colder.

-x-

* * *

A/N: Spring comes to the world, but the God of the Dead, winter has only just begun.


	22. Chapter 22

**_Chapter XXII_**

* * *

-x-

When spring returned, the mortals cried in relief.

They danced and sang and loved in the warmth.

When spring returned, Sakura cried in agony.

Mebuki has returned her back to that damned garden that now had walls as tall as the sky surrounding it.

She was _never_ allowed to leave.

Mebuki had a look in her eye that made Sakura feel sick. "I love you _so much_ , baby. This is just to keep you safe, okay?" She would say, stroking her daughter's hair. "No one can hurt you here, you're so safe, so protected. _I will never let you go_."

It was back to the birdcage.

Except this time there wasn't a door.

Hinata was forced to send Sakura to sleep after the spring goddess spent days clawing at the grass with her nails, her golden blood dripping from ripped nails, trying to reach her freedom.

"I can't live like this, Hinata," Sakura would scream. "I can't _breathe_ , my cage is tighter and smaller than it ever was."

The pale goddess would shush her, and rock her to sleep. "One breath at a time, little one. It will get easier with time, I promise you."

Sakura torn down a small part of her garden, ripping flowers from their beds and grew tall bushes and trees. There she built a small altar made from the bones she took from her hair, smearing her ichor into the ground.

Black roses bloomed, and she _prayed_.

Ino, cruel mother of all, pulled Sakura against her breast.

"You share more with those war brides than you ever thought. While they wonder if their husband's will return from war, Itachi wonders if you will ever return from the heavens."

Sakura cried, clutching her heart. "Why does this hurt so much?"

"Gods can't love without burning everything they touch. Don't you remember the story of Icarus and the Sun?" Ino murmured. "You got too close, and now you are a wax-winged mortal that set herself on fire and falling to your death."

The words go unsaid.

 _You should have eaten more seeds._

-x-

* * *

A/N: -sobs- Thank you for the kind comments, honestly.


	23. Chapter 23

**_Chapter XXIII_**

* * *

-x-

He lounged in a chair in front of his fireplace that burned hot, but Itachi felt _so cold_. His head was spinning from the endless glasses of very strong wine that never left his hand the moment his beloved left.

Blurred red eyes trailed up from the fire to the painting of Icarus mid-fall, wings burning and eyes crying.

 _God's burn everything they touch._

"You look so _sad_ , my love," a sultry voice floated to him.

Half-lidded eyes looked over to the woman he had once contemplated sharing a life with. "Minthe," he slurred. "What shadows have you been lurking in?"

She laughed airily, throwing her silky black hair over her shoulder to reveal her ample breasts. She was naked under all that hair that fell around her like a curtain, her body as beautiful and tempting as the day he met her.

"Don't you think you'll have more fun with me, my lord?" She purred, settling into his lap to press kisses against his jaw.

Itachi grunted, pulling away from her touch. "I'm married, Minthe. I have no time to be a pawn in your games."

Her clawed finger traced down his face, leaving a bloody line behind. "Do you think _marriage_ stops Kakashi from wandering down to the mortal realm to fuck with those stupid little girls?" She leaned in, licking the blood away. "Besides, your child wife is _a-a-all_ the way up there and well, you're down here." She was on his neck again, sucking and licking, her breath in little pants. "I can relieve your tension, my love. The child doesn't ever have to know."

And then he could hear _her_ , calling his name, smell her blood, feel her touch. His eyes fluttered close as she filled his soul.

 _Itachi…. Itachi, I miss you so much, I hope you can hear this prayer. I'm trapped in this goddamn garden that my mother built walls around. I feel like I can't breathe. I want to come home._

He got up, letting the nymph fall to the ground in a pile and a shout.

"I'm **married**."

With a flourish of his cape, he retreated to his bedroom to breathe in her scent that lingered on his bed sheets.

-x-


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter XXIV

* * *

-x-

The Harvest Goddess paced her bedroom floor, one thumb chewed until her ichor blood flowed.

 _How?_

 _How, how, how?_

 _How can I keep her?_

 _Keep her safe?_

 _Keep her in my arms?_

 _Forever._

 _And ever._

 _And ever and ever and ever and ever._

 _She's mine, my flesh, my blood, my child I birthed from my womb._

 _How, how, how?_

A thought formed and Mebuki grabbed her travelling cloak, disappearing to the mortal world below where the God Tree grew.

She threw herself against its trunk, screaming and clawing.

"Grandmother! Grandmother help me, please!"

Slowly, then all at once, the Great Mother Goddess appeared. Blinking the sleep from her eyes. "Child." Tsunade spoke, reaching out to brush the tears from the young one's eyes.

"Grandmother, he's going to take her away from me. He's tainted her soul, _raped her, soiled her body_ and stolen her from me." Mebuki cried. "She's mine. MY daughter, MINE to have! I have to keep her safe, he's coming to take her again!"

Tsunade forced her to slow, to speak and explain.

 _ **Why would he take her?**_

 _Because he's spiteful and evil._

 _ **Why would she stay?**_

 _Because he tricked her into eating those seeds._

 _ **What has the God King decided?**_

 _We must share her. But she's mine, the only thing I have left!_

"Come, daughter, I shall see with my own eyes."

-x-

* * *

A/N: Ayyyy, found a role for Tsunade. Small, but worthy.


	25. Chapter 25

**_Chapter XXV_**

* * *

-x-

The day had come for Sakura's release to the Underworld, where the husband lingered. Mebuki and Tsunade stood at the mouth of the entrance.

 _"Just watch, Grandmother. You will see. His corruption of my daughter."_

The Mother Goddess narrowed her pale eyes, watching as her great-granddaughter stumble into the Underworld. That crisp white clothing she wore started to melt and mix with the soil until it became black and dripped with blood. Sakura's hair had lost its vibrancy, and fell long to the ground, a crown of bone and thorns grew around her head.

The spirits of the underworld began to roar and cry with a ferocity that it thrummed inside Tsunade's heart: ' _Our Queen, our Lady has returned to us. Our Queen! Desponia!'_

Sakura threw herself at the God King that stood, awaiting her with open arms. Tears streamed from his eyes and he held her close and tight. "Just like you promised, my love," he said, tucking a petal-less rose behind her ear and falling to his knees. "Welcome back, my Queen. Our Kingdom rejoices in your return."

"Itachi," Sakura cried, clutching as his clothes to bring her lips to his and they kissed with more passion than Tsunade had ever seen.

" _See_ , Grandmother, a _spell_. He has put her under a spell and tempts her away from me." Mebuki cried.

Tsunade paused, watching as the God picked her up in his arms, and she relaxed into his embrace, whispers of love on her lips and in her heart. This woman was so different from the little bird she saw collapsed in the middle of a beautiful garden with tears in her eyes and bloody hands.

Mebuki couldn't see it.

Of course, she couldn't.

But Tsunade could.

The Spring Goddess didn't eat that fruit unwillingly. She ate it to stay with the one she loved, to keep hold of a freedom that her mother would never grant her.

Tsunade turned away, leaving a gasping and crying Mebuki in her footsteps.

 _I give you my blessing, great-granddaughter. You have chosen a good man._

-x-


	26. Chapter 26

**_Epilogue_**

* * *

-x-

His hands were all over her body the moment they stepped through the doors, her name a plead on his lips. He clawed at her clothing, ripping and tearing it before attaching his lips to her neck. "I have missed you so much."

She threw her head back to give him more access. Her body was burning, and she couldn't hold him close enough.

"I thought you every single day," she moaned, feeling the cold press of wood on her back. He fumbled with the door knob and threw it open.

"You will not leave this bed for _days_ ," he threatened but to her it sounded like a promise.

"Please," with a breath, a smile and a moan.

He threw her down on their bed, much like that one night. His long, silky black hair trailing down her body,

Down,

Down,

 _Down…_

"WOOF!"

A dog larger than life jumped onto the bed, tail wagging a mile a minute, licking his Mistress with happiness.

" _PAKKUN, OFF THE BED!_ "

Sakura's laughter echoed throughout their kingdom, and the spirits sighed and relaxed.

Their Queen was back.

Their King was happy.

Their world was whole.

-x-

High above the clouds, three Goddess' sat together.

"She has Grandmother's approval," Ino commented, picking at her sharpened gold nails with smile on her face. "Mine too, but you know I bless _nearly_ every marriage."

Karin grinned, a soft glow in her skin. "Of course, she does, although I'm a little jealous I didn't think up a match like that myself."

Hinata paused in her knitwork of a cloak depicting Sakura's fall to the Underworld, with the open arms of Itachi at the bottom. "Mebuki will stay in a slumber until it is time for Sakura to return," she ran her finger's over the pink-haired goddess' face. "That is my gift to my Spring sister."

-x-

* * *

A/N: Aaand, yep. That's the end. Thanks for those that stayed with me from start to finish. I appreciate y'all.

I kept this work short and sweet because I didn't want to get in over my head and lose all motivation.

There'll be a few exerpts that I'll put in after this of things I couldn't find a proper place for in the story-line.

Again, thank you for the love.


	27. Chapter 27

**_Exerpt I_**

* * *

-x-

Sakura stepped hesitantly into the Elysian fields, following a voice singing the softest songs of war ships, and fire, and love that burns so sweetly. Of golden apples and a promise of a girl with a face more beautiful than Love herself.

"Sister," Sakura called.

Helen turned around and ran towards the Goddess. "Big sister!" She cried, wrapping her up in a hug. Sakura held on tighter. " _Please_ don't tell me that you followed in my footsteps and met my same fate." Eyes bluer than the sapphire seas of Crete watered and searched her face.

Sakura shook her head, holding a warm hand against her pale skin. "No, I am not dead. I am Queen." She smiled softly. "And I have a gift for you."

With a flourish she picked up from her husband, Sakura pulled back her cloak to reveal a man with unruly curly hair and dazed grey eyes.

" _Paris_!"

That snapped him out of his stupor and he pulled his wife tight against him. " _My sweet, my love._ "

Sakura blinked away the tears that burned in the corner of her eyes.

"Sister, you pulled him from Tartarus for me? But your husband-?" Helen asked, a curious look in her face as Paris buried his face into her blonde curls.

"-Tells me I have the freedom to do whatever I wish." She took a half-step back. "Perks of being his Queen," she grinned, letting the two reconcile privately.

There would be time for the sisters to gossip about their lives and husbands.

Sakura turned and looked up to see her beloved standing on the balcony of their bedroom that overlooked Elysia.

 _I love you_ , he mouthed, and her heart fluttered.

 _And I love you._

-x-

* * *

A/N: You KNOW I wouldn't forget about my baby girl Helen. She deserves happiness.


	28. Chapter 28

**_Exerpt II_**

* * *

-x-

Itachi cleared his throat, trying to shake the very real _nervousness and fear_ that laced his bones.

Sakura stood there with a frown on her face, tapping a foot, and looking so much the angry wife.

' _Hades, have mercy_.' He prayed.

"My love," he started hesitatingly.

She growled.

"A tart. She's a goddamn _tart and you let her into our home?"_ Sakura seethed.

Itachi cursed the fact that all his walls had eyes.

Plus Ahmya and Pakkun were more loyal to her than they ever were to him.

He tried not to let that sting.

"I didn't..." he cleared his throat again. "I am a faithful husband."

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, I know. Because if you _ever_ cheat on me, Tartarus will look like a goddamn walk in the park compared to where I will send you."

She whipped around, but not before throwing a green leafed plant at him.

"Put her on the mantle." She commanded, and huffed out of the room in a flurry.

Itachi all but sagged in relief, looking down at the tiny mint plant in his hands.

"I told you I was married, Minthe." He shrugged. "Should have told you she's scary than a devil."

He lifted the potted plant up and tucked it onto the shelf above the fireplace beside a polished white skull of Icarus.

-x-


End file.
